Sail Oklahoma report

A couple weeks ago my build progress got interrupted for a week as I traveled with my wife to the Sail Oklahoma 2014 small boat gathering.  We had a great time meeting new people and looking at a wide variety of home-built boats - everything from skin-on-frame paddle craft to large multihull boats.  

There were classes on various subjects and talks by boat designers from across the globe - U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.  And the weather was poor enough at times with the remains of a hurricane wetting down the site that cramming into shelter and listening was a perfect use of the time.

I was particularly pleased to meet and talk with John Welsford, the designer of the SCAMP sailboat.  Here's John teaching one of his classes - this one was on sharpening tools.

There were three SCAMPs there on the water, and the Monies' Red Scamp, which was on display in the yard. 

Here's Paul Breeding's "Forever Young", attending from Colorado.  This is the SCAMP that got me inspired to build my boat when I saw it at the Lake Pepin Messabout 18 months ago, and Paul was nice enough to take me out in her:

Here's Phil McGowan's Scamp, down from Idado, which I was also able to sail in:

And from Florida, here's Kenjamin's experimental take on the design, with his wishbone mast in evidence. 

There were also other Welsford designs attending - here's a Tread Lightly from Kansas:

And a real nice Houdini from Tennessee:

A Navigator from the local area, 

And a John Fisher's Sweet Pea, also from Colorado.  We had a nice sail on her.  She's a much bigger boat than the Scamp, and has been on the TX200:

Probably the single design with the best representation were the Puddle Duck racers.  PDRs are boxy 4 foot wide 8 foot long sailboats.  The hull form is specified, but above that anything goes.  Here's a cool artistic take on the design - the Chevy Duck, with working lights:

  

Those duckers have a lot of fun - here's a shot of them out on the course rounding the first buoy in their class race.  Of course the buoy is - an inflatable duck!

These are simple boats that are a lot of fun - I may have to put one of these together after my Scamp is done...